Sacramental Universe

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Sacramental Universe


Sacramental universe (SU) is a conception of the universe as sacred, a holy temple wherein divinity and creatures play, co-create, and bestow grace. According to the medieval Christian philosopher Thomas Aquinas, "God has produced a work in which the divine likeness is clearly reflectedthe universe itself." All beings possess intrinsic worth, participating in divine beauty; each being is a "Cosmic Christ" or "Buddha nature," reflecting divine radiance. German physicist Fritz-Albert Popp's finding that every atom contains photons underscores this teaching that microcosm as well as macrocosm share in the radiance of SU. Destruction of the ecosystem is a sacrilege against SU. A "universe as machine" ideology denies SU and replaces holy sacrament with blind materialism.


Bibliography

fox, matthew. the coming of the cosmic christ. san francisco: harper, 1988.

matthew fox